The Dark Carnival
by anthrowolf
Summary: On Friday the thirteenth in the town of Sburb, a select group of kids is chosen to go to the Dark Carnival. It is held under a circus tent in Lowas Forest, and is the greatest show they could ever hope to see. However, when they try to leave they are transported to a world where fantasy becomes horror and deadly games must be played to survive. Centered around Gamzee and Nepeta.


The thirty minute lunch period at Sburb High was always a peaceful time for Gamzee Makara. It was the only part of the day when he could hang out with more than two of his friends at once. They always sat along the brick wall outside the cafeteria, talking about this and that. For the sophomore, it was the best motherfucking miracle in the world.

He leaned forward to take a swig of his bottle of orange Faygo, being sure to not let any of it slip away and touch his white and grey face paint. It would also be a shame if any of it dripped onto his favorite black shirt, which he had designed himself. It had a clown smile on it, consisting of two large dots for eyes, a circle for the nose. And a simple curved smile, all in indigo. He also wore his dark grey pants that had big white spots all over them and matching shoes.

Just as he was setting the beverage down, a voice tore him from his daze. "Tell me I'm right, Gamzee." He turned to look at the source of the angry-sounding words. It was Karkat Vantas, his best bro. He was a brunette kid with brown eyes, and was currently wearing jeans and a black hoodie with a red crab on it.

"I'm so sorry, motherfucker, but what were you talking about?" Gamzee asked, scratching his head through the thick mess of his black hair.

"Augh!" Karkat grunted. "How the fuck can I expect you to back me up when your retarded brain is always somewhere else? I was telling this asshole with the lisp that guys like you and me don't need relationships to hold us down."

The asshole in question was Sollux Captor, the blonde kid sitting next to Gamzee. He was wearing a yellow shirt with a bee hive on it and the odd glasses that looked like what you would use for a 3D movie. According to him, his eyes were all out of wack and needed the red and blue lenses for him to be able to distinguish colors.

"That ith complete shit and you know it," he said pointedly. "You jutht can't get a girlfriend. I thee the way you look at TZ whenever she'th around, tho you can cut the bullshit."

Karkat's pale face turned red. "I…I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about."

"He's right, Crabsnack," said Feferi, a dark-haired girl in a floral print skirt and fuchsia shirt. "It's as obvious as the nose on your face!" She was always so energetic and excited.

"Feferi, how many times have I told you that I don't fucking like those stupid nicknames?" Karkat practically shouted, trying to divert attention to another subject. "I'm not Crabsnack, not Karcrab, and definitely not Mr. fucking Crabby. I get it, my favorite animal is a fucking crab. Get over it!"

"How about Karkles," a feminine voice asked from behind him.

He turned to see a girl with light brown hair and candy red glasses standing over him. She had teal jeands and a white shirt with a yellow stuffed animal called a Scalemate in the center. Her skin was a shade lighter than Karkat's. Her left hand supported a green lunch tray and the other held a walking cane.

"Hey Terezi," Gamzee said, waving to her. "How is my favorite motherfucking blind friend today?"

She tapped the space beside karkat to make sure nobody was sitting there and sat down. "Fine. I could hear Karkat yelling from inside before I came out. What's got him all cranky?"

"He'th trying to convinthe me that he'th too good for a relationship," Sollux stated before Karkat could stop him. Karkat's face turned bright red again.

"Hehehe, that's too bad. I thought what we had was special," Terezi said in mock disappointment. "Anyway, have any of you heard the most recent rumor that's been going around?"

"A motherfucking rumor?" Gamzee inquired, leaning forward to put an arm on his raised knee. "Can't say I have, motherfucker."

"Why the fuck would I care about a stupid damn rumor?" Karkat asked angrily.

Feferi shook her head.

Sollux seemed to be the only one who knew what Terezi was talking about. "You mean the one about tomorrow night?"

"Yeah," the blind girl replied. "They say that every Friday the thirteenth, a curse falls over the town of Sburb. Random kids from our school wake up that morning to find a ticket on their pillow and directions to a spot in Lowas forest. For that night only, there is a tent. And once you go in, you never come out."

Karkat burst out laughing. "What a bunch of bullshit! I can't believe people actually believe that kind of garbage!"

Sollux nodded. "For onthe, I agree with KK. There'th no way thomething that thtupid could be real."

"I didn't say I believed it," Terezi said defensively. "Just that I heard it and thought you guys would find it interesting."

"I don't motherfucking get why people have to all up and lie. Why not just talk about the miracles in the world?"

"Gamzee," Karkat began, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Every time you talk about miracles, I feel like you're trying to advertise how fucking high your asshole meds make you."

"Don't say that, Karcrab," Feferi interjected. "Gamzee is okay just the way he is."

"Oh, that motherfuckin reminds me. I got all get my move on over to Ms. Lalonde's room before lunch is over," Gamzee stated as he stood up and grabbed his backpack. "See ya later, motherfuckers."

As he walked, he took his purple iPod out of his pocket and put the earbuds in his ears. In no time, he was listening to "This is Halloween" by Marilyn Manson. None of his friends could understand how someone as perpetually happy as him could enjoy such dark songs. Somehow, they sent his already calm mind into a deeper meditative state and allowed him to set his body on a sort of auto-pilot. Not a single care in the world.

The song finished moments after he arrived at his destination. It was a cream-colored door with the word "Nurse" written across the top. It had a small square window, but it was blocked by a poster on the other side. On the inside, it smeeled like disinfectant and rubber gloves. There were two beds at the far end of the room, a desk near the door, and a counter lining the right wall. Over the counter was a row of cabinets.

There were two people already in the room. The first was a student slouching on one of the beds and drinking from a water bottle. He was muscular, with long black hair and a pair of cracked shades covering his eyes. His black and white gym clothes were drenched in sweat. Gamzee waved at him, and he nodded back as he fished another bottle out of his backpack. The other person was the nurse herself, Ms. Roxy Lalonde. She sat behind her desk, absentmindedly playing a game of solitaire on her desktop computer. She wore a long white dress with a pink scarf.

"Hey, Ms. Lalonde," Gamzee said with a grin. "How the motherfuck are you on this miraculous day?"

She looked up from her boring game at him. "Hello, Makara. I'm guessing you're here for your medication."

"Yeah."

He sat down on a stool as she stood up and walked over to the row of cabinets. He turned to the sweaty guy. "Hey, Equius. What's got you all up in this place today?"

"I got…dehydrated during gym class. Sometimes I wish I didn't perspire so much."

"I bet, motherfucker."

Ms. Lalonde came back to him with a plastic cup. It contained two pills filled with some bright green liquid. The medicine was called Sopor, but he liked to call it Sopor Slime. He took it three times per day and it was responsible for his calm and aloof mood. He used the last of his Faygo to mash the meds down. They would take about thirty minutes to take effect and supply him with about seven hours of tranquility. "That hit the motherfucking spot. Nothing like the wicked elixir to bring on the miracles."

The nurse chuckled. Sometimes the things that came out of that kid's mouth were just too strange to not laugh at. The bell rang, signifying the end of lunch. He threw the Faygo bottle in the recycling bin and grabbed his backpack again. His next class was science, and that was full of all kinds of miracles.

"See you tomorrow. Honk," he said before exiting.


End file.
